DN3 Belittles Big Bottlers for Maine Root

DALLAS Door Number 3 has launched freerange-rootbeer.com, a new marketing tool for Maine Root Handcrafted Beverages, the shop said.

Designed by the Austin, Texas, agency, the Web site pokes fun at the “inhumane bottling practices in the world of corporate root beer,” the shop said. Wyatt and Dylan, two fictitious activists who go undercover to expose “atrocities” by big bottlers, narrate the site.

Wyatt and Dylan use freerangerootbeer.com to post articles, spy photos and video clips. Included is a corporate root beer break-in expose “No Can Left Behind” and the music video “Bubbles of Injustice.” The site also features an art therapy page, downloadable coloring posters and puzzles for kids, and a photo contest.

“Maine Root has established a loyal fan base which is evidenced by their remarkable expansion from one to 15 states over the last three years,” said Suzanne Kyba, DN3’s director of account services. “We wanted to create a smart, engaging and cost-effective advertising effort to expand that dialogue with consumers across the country and is, like the soda itself, 100 percent organic.”

The client’s first advertising campaign will also include print ads and guerilla and event marketing, Kyba said. The effort is expected to run indefinitely, with future phases already in the planning stages.

Founded in Portland, Maine, in 2002, Maine Root Handcrafted Beverages is owned by brothers Matt and Mark Seiler. Their root beer, sarsaparilla and ginger brew sodas are sold in Whole Foods, Central Markets, Hannaford Brothers and other grocery stores and restaurants.